Freelance Writers: What’s It Really Like to Work on the Road

Even though I’ve been a freelance writer since 1993, I haven’t done much work on the road, ie, when I’m traveling. Outside of checking email, updating my blog and firing off a few proposals, I usually don’t do much in the way of actual writing when I’m away.

Well, this time it’s different. I was in New York City last week (business/pleasure) and am in St. Paul, Minnesota this week (pure pleasure). During this 10-day sojourn, I have actually completed client projects on the road. Following are some pros and cons I’ve experienced while doing so:

Cons of Working on the Road as a Freelance Writer

No access to “home files”: What I mean by this is, I don’t have access to all the files on my main computer at home. So, I feel a little naked without my full arsenal of information at my fingertips.

I did, however, upload the files I knew I absolutely had to have. But I have a few thousand files on my hard drive at home and on any given day I might access 30, 40 or 50 of them. Hence the feeling of nakedness.

Freelance Writing Traveling Tip: I know, I know, this is easy to fix. All I have to do is store them remotely to a web-based server, but I tend to only do things when I absolutely, positively have to do so. And as I plan to start traveling a lot more, I will start looking into this right away.

Old School Technology: I’m old school and like working with a mouse (instead of a mouseless laptop). If this is you, look into getting a wireless mouse instead of using no mouse at all.

Small Screens; Big Eyesight Problems: I have horrible eyesight (and if you’re a successful freelance writer you will too eventually), so little screens don’t work well for me. I advise purchasing a laptop with a screen of at least 17″.

Client Stress: Not from clients, from myself. Let me explain. I’m online practically all day when I work at home. So when clients contact me, I usually get back to them within the hour. When I travel I’m doing stuff, so I log in intermittently — usually once or, at most, twice a day. Hence, I feel a little panicked if I receive an inquiry, question, concern, proposal, etc., from a new or old client.

This is definitely self-imposed stress though. I’m a type-A personality and tend to be pretty anal about client deadlines, queries, proposals, etc. I have to learn to relax more on this, as I’m always in contact within 24 hours, which is more than sufficient.

Freelance Writing Traveling Tip: Try to wrap up client projects you may be working on two or three days before you leave. That way, if there are questions, the client will have time to look the project over and get back to you before you hit the road.

And, tell clients that you’re going to be on the road and will only be checking email once or twice a day. That way, they’ll expect less contact from you.

Pros of Working on the Road as a Freelance Writer

Potential Projects Keep Rolling In: One of the pleasant surprises I’ve had on this little bit of an extended trip is that my prospects for work haven’t been affected. I’m used to going away for long weekends (3 or 4 days), without worrying about taking on new clients.

I’ve actually gotten three inquiries and submitted one proposal — and I’m only 6 days into my trip. Even if I don’t actually garner a project, this jives with what usually happens when I’m homebound. Hence, traveling is no hindrance — if you get back to prospects in a timely manner.

Passive Income: As regular readers of my blog and posts here know, I write and publish ebooks on freelance writing. I’ve made more this week in ebook sales while I’ve been away than I did last week, for example, when I was home.

In full disclosure, I did place an ad last week on a popular freelance writing blog, so I’m sure this had a lot to do with it. But, I haven’t done any article writing since I’ve been away, so this was $25 well spent to keep passive income flowing while I’ve been away. It’s nice to know that if you overspend on dinner one night with friends, you can log into your PayPal account and see that you made the cost of that dinner back (whew!).

Side Note: I love New York City, but $17 cosmopolitans are ri-di-cu-lous!

Work Less: I’ve actually done way less work on this trip, but have been just as effective in the projects I have completed. I’m not distracted by an ebook I might be working on, or putting together my newsletter, or researching future projects.

I think this is because when I’m working on the road, I’m intensely focused on completing the project at hand so I can go shop, hang out with friends, get ready for a party, etc.

Full Mobility: The thing I’ve enjoyed most about this trip is that I’ve finally gotten it through my head that I can, indeed, work from anywhere. While I’ve known it for years cerebrally, I hadn’t fully tested it until this trip.

As I listened to my friends in New York on Sunday moan and groan about going back to “the office” and fighting traffic on Monday morning, I was thinking about what time I had to be at the airport to catch my plane to St. Paul. Now, there’s no going back. For Christmas, I’m buying myself a brand new laptop with everything I need to be fully mobile and comfortable working on the road.

While home is nice, so is life on the road as a freelance writer.

Written by Yuwanda Black from Inkwell Editorial
Posted on September 24th, 2008 and filed under Making Money
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